Acceptance
by Rattlin666666
Summary: Futurefic, Sam left home 4 years ago to escape everything, seeking acceptance and love. Finding it is a whole other thing.
1. Chapter 1

It's not as hard as one thinks to leave your life behind, to try and seek out acceptance. It's really quite easy, especially if you manage to scrape together enough money.

It's a little more difficult to leave if you're only 19, with just a high school diploma, but find the right jobs and it's possible. Difficult but possible.

I let out a little sigh as I stare out the window into the dark streets of Chicago. It looks so peaceful outside, though the sensation is marred by the sound of the bus's engine. I wish I could embrace that peace, let it wash over me, perhaps feel it but for a little while. But I know that's just a dream. The second I step off this bus, cold reality will slam into me, knocking the wind – what's left of it – right out of me. The streets, especially these streets, are not safe at 3am. There is no peace out there, mirroring my own life.

I glance around the bus. It's the last bus of the night, but it's still practically empty. A homeless man is sitting up front trying to catch some sleep, to escape the cold. Across the aisle from me is someone who looks to be in a similar situation to me.

It's not that my situation is all that bad. It's two days to Christmas and I've got food at home this year, an excellent improvement from my first year alone. I'm going down the final stretch of my last year to receive my journalism major. I work at a bar just off campus as a bartender. It's good money, though the hours are hell. Top it off with a job at a library on Saturday and Sunday mornings as a receptionist, and I make enough, though I'm forced to live a 25 minute bus ride away to keep the rent low. It's long work hours, not much time to study, but it's not like I have anything else to do, so why worry about it.

The man across from me is roughly my age, looks tired, and by the smell of him is either very drunk or at the very least came from a bar. He senses me looking at him and turns, giving me a weak smile. I don't think he's drunk, I don't get that sense. His eyes though, gaze at me sadly. I recognize the look well. I wear it every time I look in a mirror. I wonder if the man has a similar past as me.

I turn away, unable to meet his eyes anymore. There are a few drunks at the back of the bus, but I ignore them, instead turning to the window once more.

I loathe these bus rides – and I love them – with all that I am. For it's during these rides that I remember her. My one and only.

* * *

"Mom, Mike, Brooke, I have an announcement to make." We were sitting around the dinner table, and had been eating for a few minutes now, though I hadn't touched my food, merely pushed it around with my fork.

I couldn't believe I was about to do this. Graduation had only been a week ago, and now I had finally worked up the courage to say it. They all looked at me expectantly.

I took a deep breathe. "I'm… I'm gay."

There was silence for a moment, and I turned to look at each of them in turn. My Mom's eyes had bugged out of her head and she looked like she was about to stroke, if not already stroking. Brooke simply had a raised eyebrow and a little smile on her face, while Mike hadn't moved, his fork half way to his mouth. Then it fell from his hand and clattered to the plate, all hell breaking loose.

"WHAT!" My mom screamed, shocking me. "No… no-no-no. Don't joke about this Sam. It's not funny."

Simultaneously, Brooke had jumped up. "Oh I knew it McPherson! I just knew it. So, who's the girl," she asked, eyebrows wagging and smiling brightly.

Mike had simply risen and walked two steps away.

I turned to my mom. "Calm down Mom. It's not a joke. I'm gay."

"No daughter of mine is gay. Don't be ridiculous Sam."

"Jane, be reas-" Brooke tried to cut in to my defense to my very great shock. I was expecting the bad reaction out of her, not my mom.

"Reasonable? I am reasonable. And stay they hell out of this Brooke."

I instantly rose. "Don't talk to her like that. This is her business to!"

My mom turned to me again, fury riding in her eyes. "Shut up. You're not gay, so there's nothing to discuss."

"What the hell is wrong with you mom. You taught me to be tolerant. You taught me that you would love me unconditionally, that it was my life," I retorted, now angry.

Mike turned to join in. "We are tolerant. Whatever other people want to do is fine."

"As long as it's not in our family, huh Dad? How can you be so hypocritical? I'm proud of you Sam. Good for you for standing up for yourself." I gave my sister a weak smile. This wasn't going at all how I'd hoped, but I was thankful as hell for her support.

My mom marched right up to me and grabbed my by the arm, pulling me away. "Ow, stop," I called out, her fingernails biting into my arm. But she did stop, and turned to me, her voice low and dangerous.

"Now you listen to me Samantha McPherson. You are not gay. Maybe you were curious, and this may be a phase. That's ok. But it's over now. You're straight."

I shrugged out of her grasp. Who the hell was this woman? She sure as hell was not my mom.

"Don't ever touch me again **Jane**," I stressed her name. "If this is how you're going to act, then maybe I should move out."

"No, you won't be moving out," Mike said from behind me. "We can fix you. It's ok."

"You can fix her? What the hell, did someone drop me into an alternate dimension, into some sort of a twisted angst fiction? You're both being ridiculous! I've read about people reacting badly to things similar to this in books before, but I always assumed it was an exaggeration!" Brooke was once again jumping to my defense, but they just ignored her.

My Mom walked over to Mike, and then turned to me. "Your father would be ashamed of you, of himself. He would never be able to live this down Sam. You're bringing shame to him, me and yourself."

Tears burst to my eyes, and I just couldn't take it anymore. My rage took control.

"You know SHIT all about my dad then Jane. Nothing will change me from being Gay, from loving Brooke, from…" I stopped as I realized what I had said. What I had blurted out.

Oh no.

"You what?" Brooke whispered quietly.

"What…" Mike and Jane said simultaneously.

I immediately started to cry more and turned to Brooke. "I'm so sorry," I muttered out.

She just stared at me, eyes wide. "You mean…"

"Yes," I whispered.

Mike roared and charged at me. "YOU BITCH!" Before I could react his hand had connected with my cheek in a backhanded slap. I fell to the ground, head ringing.

I heard yelling, but was too dazed to focus. I got up slowly; saw that Brooke, my angel, was standing over me, protecting me.

"Leave," she commanded. And Mike, who had gone white and was staring at his hands in shock, turned to me.

"Sam… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Whatever else may be wrong with you, I never should have hit you."

"Leave," Brooke repeated. "Apologize later. You too Jane." Jane was white as well, possible astounded at Mike's reaction.

They both left slowly, apparently contrite over their actions, content to take a breather. Then Brooke turned to me, and my heart warmed. She was so beautiful, she would understand. She would still love me, even if it wasn't how I wanted.

"Sam," she started slowly.

"Brooke," I reply. "It's ok that you don't love me." I speak so quietly I'm not sure she could hear me, but I think she did.

She lowers her head. "I'm perfectly comfortable with you being gay. I could be around you, I could have still been your best friend…"

"But," I say, my voice cracking. I know what's coming.

"I can't…" she stops and I realize she's crying too. "I can't be with you, in any sense. I can't even be your friend. I can't have you in my life. We… I… we can't…" she trails off before turning away. "I'm sorry Sam."

She walks away, leaving me to my misery. To the knowledge that I am now an orphan, with a father who is dead and a mother whom is dead to me. That I have no one who loves me.

I know what I have to do. It's the last time I'll ever see the love of my life again.

* * *

My mom had come into my room later that night. She had basically told me to change or hit the road. I was gone in the morning.

My biggest regret with it was never saying bye to Brooke. It was selfish of me, I know. Even if Brooke didn't love me how I love her, even if she didn't want me in her life, she still had a right to say goodbye. But I wouldn't have been able to stand it. I wasn't strong enough to see her again, to say goodbye.

I don't even hate Mike or my Mom. How could I? They just didn't know how else to be, some people just weren't meant to be understanding. Or so I told myself over and over.

A week later I had checked my account, and found a thousand dollars had been deposited by Mike, with a message expressing his sorrow at having hit me, and that he hoped I'd get help for my 'problem'. It was typical McQueen arrogance, but it was all he knew. I knew he still didn't accept me for me, nor did Jane (for she is no longer my mother), but they still had a line at least, and they knew they had crossed it.

The bus stops and I rise, giving a little wave to the man sitting next to me before stepping off the bus and towards my one bedroom flat. What a miserable dump. I think it every time I approach the building, but once I'm inside, I always feel comfortable. In my room at least, I'm accepted, even if it's by nothing more than me, my laptop and my bed.

I type in the code for the bottom doors of the apartment building and make my way to the stairs, trudging up the 3 flights to my own flat. As I step out of the stairwell, I see a figure is huddled against my door, fast asleep. It doesn't particularly shock me. At least once a month I come home to find a drunken homeless person sleeping on my door. I usually sneak into my flat, find a snack and leave it on them before locking my door.

As I get closer I realize that it's no homeless man, but instead is a fairly well dressed woman. Then my eyes shoot wide and I let out a squeak.

Brooke stirs at my noise and rolls over to me. Oh no.

"Sam," she rasps out and rises slowly. "You're a hard girl to track down." I don't know what to say, so instead I look down. Tears are already blurring my eyes. I sense her step towards me. "Don't cry," she soothes, sensing my distress.

"What are you doing here?" I let my mouth run away.

"Looking for you silly."

I look up to her; see that she is smiling lightly. "I left because you asked me to Brooke. I don't understand."

Her smile fades and she puts her hands on my shoulders. "I made a mistake Sam. I was scared and said some stupid things. I never wanted you to leave. I've come to apologize."

But I'm not listening to her. "You shouldn't be here. It's Christmas Eve tomorrow. Today now even. You should be home with Mike and Jane."

"That's not home Sammy, because you're not there."

My defenses are crumbling, I can feel them falling around me. Suddenly I feel claustrophobic and push back from her. "You and Jane were the only people I truly loved. You were there only ones I needed to be loved from. But you rejected me Brooke. I'm broken. So just leave, don't take any more from me, I have nothing left to give."

I brush past her to my door, fumbling with the key. "Don't you understand Sam? I want you back in my life." I don't answer as I finally get the key into the slot. "I lied before. About why I'm not at home." I slam open the door and try to shut it behind me, but Brooke is there, holding the door open. "I'm not at home because I came out to them yesterday."

I don't fully register what she is saying because I push her hard and then close the door, locking it before what she said fully hits home. "What," I say weakly, but apparently loudly enough she can hear me through the door.

"That's right Sam. I'm gay. And I'm in love with you. I have always been."

I slowly unlock the door and open it. I need to see her when she says it, to be touching her. To make sure I'm not hallucinating.

I reach out to her cheek, staring deep into her eyes. "What did you just say?" I ask, my voice thick with wonderment.

And suddenly she's beaming. "I said I love you Samantha McPherson, I always have even if I was too scared to admit it, and…" I hear roaring in my ears at her pronouncement and am unable to hear whatever she continues on to say. Not that it matters, as I push in and capture her lips with my own, ending whatever she was going to say.

We break apart what seems like minutes later, desperate for air. "I love you too," is all I say breathlessly. "Don't ever hurt me again," I continue, as I drag her inside, shutting the door behind me.

"Never," she replies. And I've finally found true acceptance.


	2. Chapter 2

So this is a companion piece/half assed sequel based on a bit of feedback from some people demanding more. Sequel is half assed cause I really didn't know where to go since Acceptance was supposed to be a one shot, and I can't write smut for the life of me. Anywho, enjoy!

P.S. From Brooke's POV!

* * *

She left me four years ago. No, that's not accurate. I sent her away four years ago. I have no one to blame for this mess but myself.

I look at the address on the building, then compare it to the sheet of paper I'm carrying. It's a match. It's taken me a whole year to find her. I started this insane search on January 1st of last year, as a part of my New Year's Resolution. Who would have thought I'd actually carry one of the damn things out? Now, two days to Christmas and here I am, in a foreign city, in a sketchy neighborhood, at 10pm.

I'm not even sure if this address is right. This is the 7th place I've been in the last year, and I'm starting to get sick of it. If there's one thing McPherson appears to be good at, it's disappearing and leaving no ties to her life. Even the private detective I hired to look for her, paid for by taking a job I didn't tell my dad about, said that she was one of the hardest people he's ever had to find.

I walk up to the door, and see that there's a keypad on it. I consider ringing for Sam's room, but think better of it. I'm not sure what sort of reaction I'd get out of her; I need to be able to see her when I do this. And ringing random people is sketchy because you never know when you hit a freak, especially in a neighborhood like this. I can just wait around for someone to sneak in behind.

I slink off to the side, trying to look discreet. I know I'm bad at this kinda thing, but it's my third time doing this outside an apartment building so I'm not as bad as I used to be.

Time passes by, crawling and mocking me, as no one enters or leaves the building. I slink down to the ground, feeling more nervous about this by the second. I get like this every time I think I've found her. My palms are sweating, my legs are shaking, and my head is pounding.

My thoughts return to Sam. I haven't seen her in four years, I wonder if I'll recognize her. If she'll still have that untamable brown hair, those exotic eyebrows, the luscious curves, that smooth beautiful sk- I cut myself off before I can go any further down that path, especially now.

I know so little about her now. I know she's in journalism, not that I ever doubted that. I know that she must work a lot, seeing as no one is supporting her. I guess I'm in that boat now too. I'll have to ask her how she makes it with all the money worries.

I sigh, then notice that someone is walking up to the building, marching quickly past me with there hands thrust in there pockets and looking down. Perfect.

I slip behind him, keeping back a good 4 meters. I arrive at the door as the person types in the code and opens the door. He grunts at me, and I nod my head at him before following him in and trudging towards the stairs, noting with disdain that there isn't even an elevator in the 5 story building. I glance at the address in my hand again, climbing the stairs quickly to the third level before calmly walking up to the door labeled 307.

At least I looked calm. Inside I wanted to run away. Cause for some reason, this time felt different. This time felt like I'd actually see her again and make up for what I'd done.

* * *

"Mom, Mike, Brooke, I have an announcement to make." I glanced up at Sam's words, noticing subtly that she hadn't had a bite to eat yet. I quickly chewed what I had in my mouth and swallowed it, wanting to give my full attention to her.

I could see the nervousness in her posture, in her eyes, so I gave her a smile to try and encourage her but she didn't seem to notice.

"I'm… I'm gay."

I felt a smile tug at my mouth, and I let it show, giving her this little cocky grin, while cocking my eyebrow. It's not that I'd been expecting this. It just didn't surprise me. Ok, that doesn't make sense. What I mean is that I didn't know she was gay, but it didn't shock me that she was. I had a feeling that a few things were certainly cleared up by this, but before I could consider what exactly, my dad's fork hit the plate, spurring me into action as everything went up in flames.

I leapt to my feet. "Oh I knew it McPherson! I just knew it. So, who's the girl," I asked, excited to have something to tease (kindly) Sam about. Plus, I really did want to know. There must be a girl that caused Sam to turn to her Sapphic side.

But my voice was overridden by Jane standing up and screaming "WHAT! No… no-no-no. Don't joke about this Sam. It's not funny."

Sam seemed to quaver under her mother's assault. "Calm down Mom. It's not a joke. I'm gay." Her voice was strong, but her body was betraying her true fear.

Jane immediately shot back. ""No daughter of mine is gay. Don't be ridiculous Sam."

"Jane, be reas-" my objection to Jane's treatment of Sam was quickly overridden.

"Reasonable? I am Reasonable." She said this without turning to me, but now flicked her eyes over to me. "And stay the hell out of this Brooke."

I lowered my head, ashamed on the inside that I was being cowed so easily. Of course, Sam leapt to my defense now. "Don't talk to her like that. This is her business to!"

It made me feel special knowing that was Sam throwing herself into the line of fire even more for me. Like saying your gay wasn't enough for one day, she stands up for me too.

"Shut up. You're not gay, so there's nothing to discuss."

I could actually feel the temperature rise as Sam's temper started to get the best of her. "What the hell is wrong with you mom. You taught me to be tolerant. You taught me that you would love me unconditionally, that it was my life."

Until this moment by dad had been silent, something I was grateful for. I knew his stance on this issue already. He'd made it clear in the past. Now he joined in. "We are tolerant. Whatever other people want to do is fine."

Now it was my turn to lose control of my anger. I may not be as explosive as Samantha, but I still could get quite angry. "As long as it's not in our family, huh Dad? How can you be so hypocritical?" I was practically yelling at him, or at least as loud as I got. I turned to my sister. "I'm proud of you Sam. Good for you for standing up for yourself." She gave me a weak smile, and I could see she was grateful for my support, but that her strength was waning, that she was starting to lose control.

Now Jane grabbed Sam and puller her aside. I heard Sam gasp in pain and say something, to which her Mother had a reply but I couldn't hear it.

But I could hear Sam's reply, and the cold tone, the raw anger mixed with pain in it, cut into me. "Don't ever touch me again **Jane**." The way she highlighted her name made me wince, but Jane didn't even flinch. "If this is how you're going to act, then maybe I should move out." Conflicting feelings rose. On the one hand, I was happy that Sam was taking a stand, but on the other side I felt a sense of dread that Sam might have to do exactly what she said.

"No, you won't be moving out. We can fix you. It's ok." My dad's voice was smooth and calm. He actually believed that it was nothing more than a simple fix; he didn't understand that there was nothing to fix.

My rage boiled over at that. To my shock, it wasn't Sam who lost control first, it was me. "You can fix her? What the hell, did someone drop me into an alternate dimension, into some sort of a twisted angst fiction? You're both being ridiculous! I've read about people reacting badly to things similar to this in books before, but I always assumed it was an exaggeration!" An author by the name of Aeryn Sun popped to mind, but I quickly wiped that thought away. Not that it mattered as it appeared I was to be completely ignored.

Jane walked away from Sam to my Father before she turned to Sam, a cold look in her eyes. "Your father would be ashamed of you, of himself. He would never be able to live this down Sam. You're bringing shame to him, me and yourself."

Sam reeled as if she was slapped, and in many ways I suppose she had been. I wanted to reach out and comfort her, as I saw tears spring to her eyes, but before I could move I saw the pain in her quickly erased by the raw rage that spilled over.

I thought I'd seen Sam angry in the past, but no, that was nothing. This was the truly angry Samantha McPherson, and it scared me. "You know SHIT all about my dad then Jane. Nothing will change me from being Gay, from loving Brooke, from…" She trailed off, suddenly turning white.

And she had such a good rhythm going, what made her st…

Wait a minute. "You what?" I whispered out, a silence having descended. I must have misheard her. I must have.

"What?" my dad and Jane asked.

Sam turned to me, and I saw that the tears were falling freely now. "I'm so sorry," she said, mumbling terribly.

"You mean…" I didn't want to know. Why was I asking?

"Yes." She spoke so quietly I almost didn't hear her.

"YOU BITCH!" Within a blink my father was on her, hitting her so hard with a backhand slap that Sam fell to the ground. I immediately started screaming at my dad while Jane started yelling as well.

"Dad! What are you doing?" I moved over to Sam while Jane roughly pushed Mike aside, though it seemed he just let himself be propelled.

"Mike! What the hell is wrong with you?" Jane exclaimed. "It's one thing to argue, to yell. It's something completely different to use violence."

I inserted myself in between the two parents and Sam, trying to make myself look as menacing as possible. "Don't ever touch her," I said coldly, not that I thought either one of them would.

I glanced behind me when I heard a noise out of Sam and saw her rise. Her cheek was red and there was a little dribble of blood coming from her lip. But she wasn't angry. Instead she looked defeated and crushed, failing under the intense pressure.

"Leave," I ordered. I saw my dad was in shock over what he'd done, that he couldn't believe it himself. Thank god he wasn't totally gone.

"Sam… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Whatever else may be wrong with you, I never should have hit you." I wanted to snort and march up to him and slap him. But Sam didn't, so I didn't feel it was my place.

"Leave," I repeated. "Apologize later." As an afterthought I said "You too Jane." And they obeyed me.

I turned back to Sam, trying to keep my thoughts from bursting out, trying to understand what I was feeling and what was going on.

I gazed at her for a moment, and her brown eyes stared back at me, awaiting there judgment. I thought back over the past years, all that she'd done. The sly glances I'd dismissed, the always available helping hand. Constantly being there for me, no matter what I did. Standing up for me in any situation. My thoughts returned to the way I have seen her looking at me though, and I couldn't help but shudder. And I realized what I had to do, even though it would hurt Sam, hurt me. But I had to do it.

"Sam," I began.

The silence broken, she immediately cuts in, voice defeated. "Brooke, it's ok that you don't love me."

I can't look at her when I say this. "I'm perfectly comfortable with you being gay. I could be around you; I could have still been your best friend…" I break off, almost unable to continue.

"But," she says, and I can hear the pain in her voice, the tears that are brimming in her eyes.

The tears are starting to fall from my own as well "I can't… I can't be with you, in any sense. I can't even be your friend. I can't have you in my life. We… I… we can't…" I can't say it. I can't say that we're finished, and instead I turn away. "I'm sorry Sam."

I can't stay here. I can't be around her right now. So I walk away, leaving Sam to her misery.

* * *

I never saw Sam again. It hurts to know the last time I saw her was in an instance of so much pain, and it hurts to know that I was such a coward, afraid to face my own issues.

I knock on the door to Sam's room, and wait. But there's no answer. I sigh and lean against the wall, falling to a sitting position. I can wait as long as is needed. I have no place to be now. No place to call home.

I knew this was coming eventually. I knew I was gay by the end of first year, and kept it hidden from my parents, afraid of the reaction I knew would come. I wonder how long Sam had kept it hidden, it's just another question I never got to ask her. My guess is it wasn't long. Sam is brave, and strong, much stronger then me. Always sticking to her guns, never backing down.

My thoughts drift back to that first year of school where we were forced to move in together. The heinous things that I did to her, how everyone always turned against her, it was always her against the world. And I always got away with anything, while she was blamed for it all. It wasn't fair to her, but I guess it made her strong. Strong enough to come out.

Things fell apart so fast yesterday morning. It was eerily similar to the situation with Sam coming out. We'd been sitting down for lunch, and I said I had an announcement to make. And I just followed Sam's lead and blurted it out.

And of course they exploded. It was even worse than Sam's in many ways because now they saw it all as some sort of conspiracy. No, that's not true, it wasn't worse. I didn't have my heart broken by the person I loved on that day.

They threw me out of the house so fast my head spun. I was prepared for that of course; I had packed my bag that morning. I had had this faint hope, this pipe dream, that they would be more understanding. But of course they hadn't.

It wasn't long before I started to fall asleep against the door, my mind overcome by the exhaustion of all the thinking, all the remembering I'd been doing.

I awoke to a squeaking noise, and rolled over to it. And there she was, in all her glory. Her ruffled clothes, the same reckless hair, dark circles under her eyes, and a haunted look in the eyes. Despite all this, she still looked beautiful to me.

I start to speak, but find my voice is tired and weak. "Sam. You're a hard girl to track down." It's not the perfect opening line, but it might be enough to break the tension.

Apparently not, because there's already tears forming in her eyes. "Don't cry," I try to calm her.

She immediately replies with, "What are you doing here?" Her voice is accusing, which hurts a little but I don't blame her.

I smile. "Looking for you silly." It's all I can say.

Pain returns to her eyes, and I realize she's been living in pain since she left. That she hasn't been living out of a desire to live. That she was just living because she didn't want to take the coward's way out. And my heart breaks for her. "I left because you asked me to Brooke. I don't understand." Her voice is so small, like a child's.

I step up to her. Time to fess up. "I made a mistake Sam. I was scared and said some stupid things. I never wanted you to leave. I've come to apologize." I can see though, that she's already working up an argument to get me the hell out of her life, that her walls are up higher then ever, and she doesn't want to lower them.

"You shouldn't be here. It's Christmas Eve tomorrow. Today now even. You should be home with Mike and Jane." She speaks the last line without hate, without anger, and it shocks me that it appears she holds no malice to any of us.

"That's not home Sammy, because you're not there."

She shoves me back softly, but I let myself be pushed away, not wanting to threaten her. "You and Jane were the only people I truly loved. You were there only ones I needed to be loved from. But you rejected me Brooke. I'm broken. So just leave, don't take any more from me, I have nothing left to give."

I know she truly believes what she says. That she's broken, that she has nothing left go give. But she's wrong. I know she's wrong. She has at least one thing to give, and so much that I can give her.

Just how do I convince her? She brushes past me, hands shaking as she struggles to put the key in the door. I have to stop her. I have to do this quickly.

"Don't you understand Sam? I want you back in my life." She's ignoring me. Time to take the plunge. "I lied before. About why I'm not at home." She finally gets the door open but I insert myself in the frame, not letting her slam it in my face. "I'm not at home because I came out to them yesterday."

She shoves me out and locks the door, and now I don't think there's a happy ending coming. I've hurt her too badly, and she truly is too broken to care. And I can't blame her.

"What?"

But perhaps it's not finished. "That's right Sam. I'm gay. And I'm in love with you. I have always been." The door clicks and opens, revealing Sam looking at me, her eyes seemingly gazing far away. She reaches out and places her hand on my cheek, eyes locked on mine now.

"What did you just say?"

I can't help it, and I break out in a full smile. This is the first time I've ever admitted or said it to anyone. "I said I love you Samantha McPherson, I always have even if I was too scared to admit it, and I hope you still love me too. Because I don't think I can live another moment witho-"

And I've stopped talking because there's this impediment to speaking, said impediment being a pair of lips holding my own in a warm embrace.

She breaks apart soon, much too soon for my liking. "I love you too." Her voice lowers a bit. "Don't ever hurt me again." She's pulling me inside, but I take what she says to heart.

"Never," I reply, smiling lazily at her. And if I can help it, I never will.

* * *

I left to return to university at New York after Christmas ended. My fees were all paid up there from my parents and I had enough money to finish the year and graduate with a business major, so of course I had to finish the year. I left Sam behind in Chicago temporarily, but when I left she was no longer the broken creature she had been for four years. She was returned to the fiery, brazen and amazing Sam that I knew in high school. It was painful to leave her, but the knowledge it would only be 4 months until we could start our life together made it bearable.

Almost bearable at least. The second my exams ended I left for Chicago, settling into her flat like it was home all along. It was my new home, free of persecution and hate. Free from non-understanding parents, and I swore to myself I would keep my promise to Sam. Because she was my home.


End file.
